Wild chimpanzees play as adults to better cooperate as a group, researchers suggest
Nov 21, 2024
Compared to children, adults don't play as much, but social play into adulthood is considered a universal human trait. Play has a role in building tolerance, cohesion, bonding, and cooperation. By comparison, play in adults of other species has been considered rare, and yet a new study reported in Current Biology shows that some chimpanzees, like people, continue to play often throughout their entire lives and especially before engaging in acts that require collective cooperation.